Participating in online research is a great way to earn money while sharing your thoughts and opinions with leading brands. But while it can be easy to get your first opportunities as a research participant, being invited to subsequent projects with higher compensation requires being a valuable participant. Your reputation increases your value and gets you access to more lucrative research opportunities.
So what does it take to become a great research participant?
1. Reliability
If you schedule a research session, show up on time and ready to go. If you begin a survey, complete it. At ParticipantHQ, we track the completion and attendance rate for research participants. If you always show up on time and complete research exercises you begin, you’ll be rated higher and get invited more often! For projects that offer the largest incentives, we often will only accept participants with a high reliability rating.
2. Preparation
In advance of a scheduled research interview, make sure you are in a quiet place, with a high quality headset, and a good internet connection. Test out the video conference software and follow all of the instructions provided to you before the interview. This preparation will ensure your research is completed successfully and on time!
3. Honesty
We look for participants who can share real thoughts and opinions without hesitation. Sometimes, research may be a bit person or touch on sensitive areas about your life. If you are honest and share your true feelings, you become a much more insightful and interesting research subject.
4. Articulate
Having thoughts is one thing, but being able to clearly share them can be difficult. Practice verbalizing your thoughts as you browse websites and use apps in your every day life. It may seem silly at first, but practice makes perfect! Give yourself opportunities to practice being an articulate research participant who can easily share complex thoughts and opinions.